An Imperial or 'Double' India Pale Ale with characteristically intense yet greatly balanced hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. It is deep golden-light amber/copper in color, although the use of the huge amounts of hops may cause a degree of appropriate hop haze. Alcohol strength is high but balanced by the hops and malt profile.

Aroma: Cooked vegetables. I'm thinking DMS or old hops. Also some sweeter notes.

Taste: A mix of crystal malt sweetness and low hop bitterness. The "cooked vegetables" aroma comes through in the flavor a bit but is mostly suppressed by the heavy helping of malt. Some warming as it goes down but not as boozy or nearly complex enough for 9.6% ABV. Almost like a double amber ale, so one dimensional. Bitterness reaches a peak in the aftertaste but more balanced than "overloaded." Aftertaste is quickly subsiding bitterness and some caramel.

Mouthfeel: Between medium and full in body with a bit more carbonation than I'd expect at this level of alcohol. Just below average drinkability.

Final Thoughts: I expect a lot more hop character and flavor out of a double IPA of this caliber. Maybe fresh it's worth a bronze metal but this beer for me is why I'm so weary of purchasing IPAs I haven't tried before. Throwing a bunch of hops in a boil kettle is not a recipe for success and two many breweries have just hopped (pun) on the IPA train without a clue what they're doing. Would I drink it again? Unlikely. (1,245 characters)

Dark copper body; thick, rocky head. Nice blend of roasted grain with a hard to describe hop presence; chocolate(?!). The taste emphasizes a roasted malt character with a nicely balancing hop bitterness. Medium body; slightly sweet with an overall dryness at the finish.

This is a nice, easy drinking beer but doesn't seem to hit the IPA category squarely. The beer is more malt-forward than anything else, and for a DIPA, this just seems odd. I do agree that there is a nice balance between the malts and hops, and the alcohol presence doesn't dominate anything, yet I scratch my head at it being labeled a DIPA. Strangely, this seems more like a heavy-hitting Cascadian ale in character. A very good beer overall, just don't expect an overall DIPA character. (761 characters)

The beer backlog here at Chez Woody is beginning to show some headway, partially thanks to my triage giving APAs/AIPAs/DIPAs priority. It is also furthering The CANQuest (tm) which was the underlying idea of their initial aquCANsition.

From the CAN: "Imperial India Pale Ale Overloaded With Hops"; "Enjoy Fresh[;] Keep Refrigerated[;] Unfiltered"; "Support Flavor - Boycott Bland (tm)"; "Our mission for this Imperial or 'Double' India Pale Ale is to overload the beer with hops for an intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma while still being balanced by a big malt profile, resulting in a hoppy beer with more dimension. This beer is light copper in color with some hop haze from overloading with dry hops as well. Cheers."

The Crack! came off without a hitch, but having read their verbiage, I wanted to challenge myself to see what kind of clarity I could create. I would characterize myself as successful since I got three-plus fingers of dense, tawny head with great retention that left nice lacing as it fell. Color was Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. Nose smelled of pine tar and since I was not expecting that kind of intensity, I think that some nose hairs got burnt as my sinus cavity filled with the scent of evergreens. Phew! Mouthfeel was full, like a dollop of beer on my tongue. The hops hit the beachhead of my tongue in a take no prisoners stance, ripping away at my weakened taste bud defenses and worming its way in like muriatic acid. I reached for pliers to pull my tongue out and step on the thing but before I could do so, I was hit with a second wave of heat, alcohol and bitterness that rocked me back in my seat. Jeezus! It was hot, minty and just a handful. I often characterize myself as a self-described, unrepentant hophead, but this was causing me to swoon. I like it! I could have done with a little less of an alcohol burn, but the mintiness of the hops left me with a cool feeling in my mouth and throat. The finish was dry. Gaspingly dry to the point that I was reaching for my asthma inhaler. Phew! I CAN to nothing less than appreciate a DIPA like this. (2,140 characters)

S: Aroma is sweet pine-scotch of short duration, strong upon first uncapping, but quickly tampers off. Average. Flavor followed the nose, pine-scotch, wet citrus-orange hopping with a warming of alcohol followed by a bittering of grapefruit peel.

O: Good dose of ibu's, balanced by a boozy, sweet alcohol and speciality grains. Dry bittering orange peel and citrus finish of good level. Complexity is rather ordinary, a bit sweet and boozy for multiples. 85 says it best for me, not mindblowing, but will give you a fix for hops and alcohol in need. Very good malt support. (1,132 characters)

Incredibly little going on here. Canning date looks to be Jan 30, so 4 months out, but even at that a DIPA this big shouldn’t die a death of hops entirely. It’s smooth enough, and not 10% hot, but overloading nothing, and I’d really rather drainpour than put the traffic on my liver. 3.5 (557 characters)

Destihl probably better stick to sours !!! From the moment I popped the top on this I knew it was gonna be a struggle to finish. Way to malty, sweet, boozy and unbalanced. I always hate having to be so harsh but a harsh review is required for this harsh beer. (259 characters)

A: Pours amber with a slight chill haze under a 1” light linen white foam collar that hugs the glass while collapsing to a thick film. S: Hops dominate the nose with pine, mint, citrus, and light fruit. T: Starts with lightly sweet fruit and malt and then grapefruit and citrus bitter take over and linger through the finish to the aftertastes. M: Very creamy above average carbonation with a medium body. O: Big hops and big alcohol balance each other. The bitterness is assertive but not harsh. A good afterwork beer. (525 characters)

Drinking it down: Starts off bitter, pounces on the palate, then slides down and simmers. Caramel-y malt body stays this side of sweet. Much more malt character in this double IPA than most. Interesting dynamics here. Halfway through, the hoppy side has faded in potency, and the alcohol is taking over.

I wonder what the can tells us? "Our mission for this Imperial or Double India Pale Ale is to overload the beer with hops for an intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma, while still being balanced by a big malt profile, resulting in a hoppy beer, with more dimension. This beer is light copper in color with some hop hazed from overloading with dry hops as well. Cheers."

They did what they set out to do, it seems. If you want to be blasted, even obliterated, by hops, and nothing else in your double IPA, this ain't the one for you. Me, I'm enjoying it. My first full taste of a Destihl beer, and I'm ready for more. (1,325 characters)

Just got this brew at my local liquor store and thought that I would give it a try. I've really had good luck with IPAs in a can and thought that this would be no different.

A - Great orange-copper color. Great white head with good lacing. Clear beer. Aesthetically pleasing.

S - Very pungent hop aroma with great notes of citrus and pine really coming through. A hop bomb with Simcoe/Columbus type hops! Some sweet malt tones but is second hat to the hops.

T - Great hop flavor that shines through with an amazing pine, grapefruit, and resin character. I really love the big resinous flavor that comes with the Simcoe hop. It's sweet up front with some orange and resin that are also there. This beer seems to have a more pronounced hop flavor profile instead of a muddled hop bomb that makes me enjoy it even more. Smooth with a solid hop bitterness to finish crisp. It is sweeter than some but there is plenty of bitterness to try and balance; like a boxing match on the tongue.

M - Medium mouth-feel. Moderate carbonation. Overall it is trying to balance but instead of being a gymnast it is a teeter-totter over the different parts of the tongue.

Overall, a stunningly terrific DIPA. This one really came out of no where but it is like an Imperial version of Amazon Princess and I really enjoyed it. If you've never had a piney mixed with citrus brew this a great beer to try. Awesome blend of pine/citrus hops and malt for an DIPA. I will definitely get this again and hopefully DESTIHL will release more great beers.

A - Brilliantly clear deep golden amber in color, carbonation keeps it's thick egg shell-colored head alive for some time which eventually results in chunky lace coating the glass.

S - Prickly pine needle protrudes earthiness from juicy mango fruitiness with enough biscuity malt in the background to provide some sort of "balance" and a touch of honey sweetness to this big IPA aroma!

T - Big malt flavor give the beer its bready and smooth alcohol undertones while loads of hops continue a sensory tug of war between piney, earthy grass and fruity mango and pineapple with no clear victor.

O - Hoperation Overload lives up to it's name with a full sensory experience of great malt character overwhelmed by both earthy and fruity hop overtones for a dangerously drinkable, higher octane double IPA. (1,013 characters)

the way the vertex ipa was almost under flavored, this one is almost overdone, too much balance, which is such a common trap with these. its way too much malt in this, sweet coppery richness is nice with all the oils of the hops, but it never really turns into something special, and it certainly doesnt have the hop forwardness a good double should have, as flavorful as it is. more texture than flavor from the hops honestly, aggressively bitter, but with a honey resin sort of feel, which i really like. i never get anything else out of them, no grapefruit, not tropicals, nothing of the sort, oils and bitterness. its a little sloppy in that regard, you know, just throw a ton of grain in the tun to crank the gravity, and then empty the freezer of hops, its just not all that refined, as much as it is still indicative of the style and pretty tasty on the whole. i guess the sours are what these guys do well, as they two hoppy beers ive had so far have been underwhelming, especially considering the hype around their arrival here. (1,037 characters)

From the can, the head takes up 3/4 of the glass but boils down to a deep hazy copper body. The full dark classic "C" hops come through in the nose. The taste starts with a soft creamy sweet malt flavor that is cut by a big hop flavor of dark green herbal character. The finish has a nice balance of hop bitterness and alcohol spice note to follow.

This beer real has a good balance of big sweet malt and bitter hops and it is very easy to drink for such a big beer. (472 characters)

I want my money back. This is only the third beer I have ever drain poured. A boozy malt disaster of a beer. These guys should try another beer of the style and decide where their own beer stacks up. I was excited to try a new DIPA in a can. What a disappointment. All onion. Maybe it was just a bad batch? I really hope so. (324 characters)

A - Hazy orange with a finger of foamy white head, medium lacingS - Definitely astringent, citrus and orange, banana oddly enough, very resinous.T - The astringency in this is really gross, it has an overly ripe banana, some apricot, and really sugary lemonade mix of flavors, malt is sweet. BlehM - Some alcohol burn, very tart, chewy, O - The more I drink it the less I like it, going to pour our the last quarter of it. Just so weird and bleh (462 characters)

Not sure about this one. Seems to be a thick pine and resin thing going on. But it's also coming across as chalky and chewy (though not in the best way). Sweet malty presence. It seems like wads of everything on top of itself for the sake of it and without any clear character or purpose. This one just doesn't work for me really. (330 characters)

First beer I ever had from these guys. Paid 4 dollars for the can but I can justify it for high octane ABV. Into a mason jar.

A - Looks dark with a weird unfiltered cloudy shade and a full two inches of rockin head that pulls back to a tanish colored lace ring. Great lacing.S - Smells of dank old hops reminiscent of a barleywine with some caramel malts and wood.T - Taste is OK watery malts a touch of banana peel or some old fruit I can't tell. Hops are their like candied with a slight lingering bitterness at the end of the palate to cover the ABV.M - Medium bodied sort of watery but taste doesn't clash well.

Overall I am not sure what went wrong choice of hops maybe malts? Its a very sub par taste in the age of world class DIPA's I haven't experienced in a while. Pass if you can. (795 characters)

Taste is surprisingly reminiscent of banana, seems off. Aside from that, it's pretty tasty. If it was a Belgian IPA, that would be a different story. But really, aside from that, it's pretty tasty. Floral with a little honey, slight citrus, orange.

12 ounce can into tulip glass, no can dating. Pours lightly hazy deep orange/copper color with a 2 finger fairly dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty foamy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, pine, floral, grass, caramel, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good complexity and solid balance of citrus/pine hops and moderate dark malt sweetness; with decent strength. A bit too perfumy/piney with weak strength. Taste of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, floral, grass, pine, caramel, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness. Good amount of pine/citrus rind bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon/orange zest, citrus rind, pine, caramel, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice complexity and balance of citrus/pine hops and moderate dark malt sweetness; with a great bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a smooth and fairly creamy/sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a slight warming present after the finish. Overall this is a nice DIPA. Good complexity and balance of citrus/pine hops and moderate dark malt sweetness; and very smooth to sip on for the ABV. A nicely enjoyable offering. (1,487 characters)